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All India Cut-off Ranks

Competition Level:

Very High

(

in 25')

2023

5,500

SR2

2024

5,500

Special..

2024

5,500

SR3

You (4506)

Detailed Report

Get shortlisted courses, admission chances by selected branch, city, fees plus counselling info

Download PDF

The College Predictor rebuilt for 10M+ students

Redesigning the admissions experience nationwide. Combining prediction summaries, probabilities, and downloadable reports into one tool made complex decisions easy—driving a +72% peak-week revenue jump and shifting ~80% of buyers to our combo pass.

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View Case Study

Historical Data Analysis

5+ years of cutoff trends

Smart Predictions

AI-powered probability analysis

Verified Data

Official sources only

My role

Sr. Product Designer

Discovery → Redesign →Launch

I owned

Research · UX Strategy · Product Design

Team

1 PM · Engineering

Sole Product Designer

Status

LIVE

Web + Android app

Context & Problem

A critical decision, made in a hurry, with the wrong map.

Every year, 15M+ students sit for competitive entrance exams in India. In the narrow 7–10 day window after results, they must lock their official choices on national and state counselling portals. The order they submit is irreversible.

Careers360's College Predictor answered "what are my options?" by matching ranks, categories, and states against 5+ years of historical cutoff data.

However, observing user behavior during peak counselling week revealed a critical gap: faced with 1,000+ unranked results, students hit decision fatigue and dropped off. The tool delivered raw data, but missed the real question: "Which colleges should I prioritize, and in what order?"

15M+

Aspirants sitting target exams yearly

7–10 Days

Window to lock irreversible choices

1,000+

Raw options returned per query

The moment that defined the brief

It gave me 1,000+ colleges. My counselling form has 20 slots. I still don't know what to put in slot one.

Aarav Chauhan (JEE Main Rank ~41K)

Recorded Usability Session · Day 2 of JoSAA

BEHAVIORAL BREAKDOWN

The drop-off wasn't in discovery. It was at the decision.

Traffic was never the bottleneck—the predictor was one of our most-visited tools. Mapped directly from session walkthroughs, user confidence broke down right at action: not at "got my results," but at "what do I do next?"

Why this was worth a redesign, not a tweak

Raw Data, Zero Guidance

Answers "What are my options?" but fails to address "What should I do next?"

Flat Visual Hierarchy

Without visual distinction, top-tier dream colleges and safety backups looked identical.

High-Stakes Friction

Because counselling choices are irreversible, ambiguity creates instant decision stress.

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Scroll Ends, Decision Doesn't

Students reached the bottom of a flat list with no way to compare or shortlist—breaking the core value loop.

The Paradox of Choice

Showing 1,000+ options with equal weight caused choice paralysis instead of confidence.

Jobs To Be Done

What students were really trying to accomplish

Research

3 in 4 students dropped off before seeing a prediction

We combined behavioral analytics, funnel analysis, session recordings, and heatmaps to uncover where students dropped off - and why.

374,082

Students

analyzed 

75.11%

Exited before prediction results

100+

Behavioral sessions reviewed

Funnels

Locating exactly where 75% of high-intent traffic abandons the flow.

Heatmap

High engagement at the input fields, but total blindness below the fold.

Recording Sessions

Revealing real-time choice hesitation, fatigue, and sudden exits.

Problem

Choice Overload

Students faced thousands of unranked colleges, making it difficult to identify realistic options and move forward

Problem

The Trust Gap

Predictions lacked transparency, prompting students to leave and validate results on other platforms.

Problem

Wrong Mental Model

Students chose branches, not just colleges, but the experience was built around institutions instead of outcomes.

Problem

Decision Friction

Too many equally important actions increased hesitation at the moment students were ready to decide.

Problem

Broken Momentum

The journey ended with predictions, offering no way to shortlist, save, or confidently continue their admission journey.

Problem

Shared Decisions

Students and parents made decisions together, yet the experience provided no shared view to build confidence.

From data to insights

Design strategy

The Design Hypotheses

Translating research insights into testable If we... then... bets ensured every design decision directly targeted a core behavioral bottleneck.

Rahul

Students get 1,000+ results and freeze — abundance reads as overwhelm.

If we lead with a chance verdict - Good / May Get / Tough -then students orient themselves before they ever scroll the list.

Rahul

A row of equal-weight CTAs re-creates the overwhelm in button form.

If we set one primary action (Shortlist) and defer the rest, then students take a clear next step instead of stalling.

Rahul

A bare probability isn't believed — students cross-check 2–3 other sites first.

If we show the math — category-adjusted rank + cut-off history — then the number becomes evidence they trust.

Rahul

The decision dies inside the tool — a shortlist that never leaves is a dead end.

If we put shortlist, report & counselling one tap from every row, then the decision survives the jump to JoSAA.

Rahul

Predictions are per-college, but a student's real choice is per-branch.

If we compute chance per course, not per institute,  then the result matches how students actually decide.

Rahul

Students and parents disagree, and neither has shared ground to argue from.

If we give a credible, shareable comparison, then the choice feels joint and defensible - not a gamble.

How I explored the concepts

Three honest bets to close the decision gap

I diverged hard before converging. I prototyped all three and pressure-tested them through internal testing and iteration; here's what I learned and why one won.

Concept A

Concept B

Concept C

Shipped

Concept A

The Enhanced

Filter List

Focusing on high scannability. Retained a dense list view with a classic sidebar, introducing top-level chance filters and an Admission Summary chart for instant grouping.

Hypothesis: Structured multi-attribute filtering will speed up exploration.

The Gap: Improved search speed, but failed to solve choice paralysis on longer scrolls.

From Passive Data Dump to Guided Decision-Making

Instead of forcing students to process flat lists on their own, the redesign surfaces historical trends and planning tools in context to drive decision momentum.

Before

(Legacy Pipeline)

After

(The Dynamic Decision Loop)

Good/May/Tough

Shows probability instantly

Shortlisted

Saves for later

Important Notes

Highlights key rules

Goal-Based Filters

Speeds up decision-making

Layout Toggle

Swaps card/table view

Eligibility Rank Mapping

Matches real ranks

landing page

Understanding intent

before prediction

Instead of hiding input fields behind multiple steps, the core predictive form is embedded directly into the first fold.

By pairing these fields with clear, trust-building value pillars, this single workspace minimizes top-of-funnel drop-offs and drives immediate decision momentum.

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www.careers360.com

Trusted by 10L+ Students

JEE Main College

Predictor 2026

Get precise college predictions based on previous year's cutoffs and trends

Historical Data Analysis

5+ years of cutoff trends

Smart Predictions

AI-powered probability analysis

Verified Data

Official sources only

Enter JEE Main Paper-1 Exam Details

Get personalized college recommendations in seconds!

Exam Given

JEE Main Paper-1

Interested Counselling

Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA Counselling)

Your Rank

Home State

Delhi

Caste Group

General

OBC-NCL

SC

ST

EWS

Gender

Male

Female

Person with Disability (PwD)

Disability Quota

College predictor report will be sent to you on:

Mobile Number

Predict My Colleges

Enter JEE Main Paper -1 Exam Details

Get personalized college recommendations in seconds!

Exam Given

JEE Main Paper-1

Interested Counselling

Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA Counselling)

Your Rank

Home State

Delhi

Caste Group

General

OBC-NCL

SC

ST

EWS

Gender

Male

Female

Person with Disability (PwD)

Disability Quota

College predictor report will be sent to you on:

Mobile Number

Predict My Colleges

Trusted by 10L+ Students

JEE Main College Predictor 2026

Get precise college predictions based on previous year's cutoffs and trends

Historical Data Analysis

5+ years of cutoff trends

Smart Predictions

AI-powered probability analysis

Verified Data

Official sources only

https://www.careers360.com

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Simple Inputs: Keeps the form fast and effortless

Verified Sources: Shows real data sources upfront

Immediate Proof: Eases hesitation right at the button

Clear Outcome: Shifts copy from a search tool to a guide

10M+ Scale Metric: Instantly proves credibility

Personalized Cards: Highlights clear value before they click

Real Student Stories: Builds confidence at the final step

Catch-All CTA: Gives long-scrollers an easy next step

https://www.careers360.com

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www.careers360.com

Zero

Friction

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Total Due

₹943

Get My College List

order summary

By anchoring the checkout flow to explicit value reminders and real-time social proof, this workspace minimizes late-stage drop-offs and accelerates transaction velocity.

Value Affirmation, Seamless Intent

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No post-payment anxiety: Instant confirmation and clear receipt details eliminate anxiety, sending users directly to their results.

Reassuring error states: Simple messaging explains what went wrong without causing panic, giving a clear one-tap retry.

Transparent pending states: Clear status updates and transaction details reassure users while their payment is processed in the background.

Clear value upfront: Clear plan comparisons and live social proof make value obvious, reducing hesitation right before checkout.

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www.careers360.com

https://www.careers360.com

From Static Results to

Confident Choices

Showed real-time activity right next to the filter and shortlist tools to build instant trust at the exact moment they decide.

We turned the result page from a passive report into a decision engine. By showing students clear prediction chances alongside live activity from peers, we removed final-step doubt and made the next step obvious.

Broke down over 1,000 college choices into simple, color-coded odds (Good, May Get, Tough) so users immediately see where they stand.

Instant Clarity

Peer Reassurance

THE result page

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Embedded 1:1 guidance directly within the flow for students who feel stuck or overwhelmed by choices, providing instant clarity.

Grouped multi-tag filters by probability tier (Good, May Get, Tough) and quick filters, eliminating fatigue to build a focused shortlist.

Brought key data like fees, placement CTCs, cut-offs, and seat availability so students can evaluate options without leaving the page.

Visualized multi-year trends across counselling rounds in a clean modal, letting students benchmark admission chances with precision.

Every element on the card is engineered to eliminate guesswork and guide students toward high-intent action.

Personalized Rank Mapping

Plots the user's exact rank directly against historical cut-offs for an intuitive visual comparison.

Multi-Year Context

Surfaces 3-year historical trends and competition levels to set realistic expectations.

Frictionless Actions

Pairs shortlisting with instant secondary pathways - like side-by-side comparison - to keep exploration moving forward.

Upfront Verdict

Leads with clear, color-coded likelihood tiers (Good, May Get, Tough) so students know where they stand at a glance.

UX Decisions That Reduce Uncertainty

trade-off decisions

The hardest constraint wasn't technical - it was alignment.

The PM and I clashed over one thing: how many calls-to-action the screen should push. Working through it is what made the final direction strong - so I'm putting it first.

My Position · Design

One clear action per state. Everything else stays secondary

Compare, Shortlist, View Report, Book Counselling, Talk to an Expert, Download Brochure — stacking them all at equal weight is just the overwhelm again, in button form. A screaming row of CTAs makes the real next step impossible to find.

Ashok Singh

Sr. Product Designer

PM's Position · Product

Surface all CTAs to capture immediate conversion & revenue

Several of those actions are how the product earns its keep. Hiding them risked engagement and revenue, and the PM rightly didn't want to ship a beautiful tool that under-delivered on the roadmap.

Karan Goel

Senior Product Manager

How I Resolved It

Not "how many CTAs," but "which one is primary—and when do the rest appear?"

I set a clear CTA hierarchy instead of cutting actions. One primary CTA—Shortlist-gets the solid coral button on every row because it moves students toward a decision. Compare and View Report become quiet inline links. Business-critical actions—counselling, talk-to-an-expert, and direct admissions—surface as contextual cards deeper in the flow, only when relevant.

OUTCOME & MEASUREMENT

What shipped, what moved, and how
the design proved its value.

We launched the new NEET College Predictor for 10M+ students. Replacing confusing tables with clear chance levels cut drop-offs and boosted purchases in 20 days.

-35%

Drop-off Reduction

Recorded across the first 20 days of live release.

40%

Purchase Rate

Jumped from 69/1,359 (~5%) to 400/1,000 (40%).

10M+

Student Reach

Active users across JEE Main, EAMCET & KCET.

VALIDATED HYPOTHESES

Driving high-intent product purchases

400/1,000 users (40%) purchased the product post prediction - up from 69/1,359 baseline

takeaway

Leading with plain-language verdicts guides students straight to value-adding paid offerings.

NORTH STAR SIGNAL

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result

Eliminating triage paralysis at scale

-35% drop in drop-offs recorded across the initial 20-day launch window.

takeaway

Grouping scattered results into structured chance bands eliminated choice overload at the top of the funnel.

Friction reduction

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result

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Preserving algorithmic trust across edge cases.

10M+ students served smoothly across 14 distinct edge-case result states.

takeaway

Keeping data transparent enough that students & parents felt confident anchoring decisions and purchases on the output.

STRATEGY & TRUST

result

What worked

Live Season Research

Studied real-time student behavior during peak counseling to capture unfiltered signals.

Open Access & Trust

Replaced paywalls with transparent probability tiers, proving open data drives purchases better than artificial gating.

What I'd do differently & next

Post-Counseling Follow-Up

Track actual seat allotments post-counseling to continually feed real outcomes back.

Side-by-Side View

Compare "Good Chance" options side-by-side instead of single rows, letting students evaluate competing colleges in seconds.

What I'd carry forward

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Decision Clarity

Data Overload

Guided Action

The win wasn't a prettier results page. It was a reframe - from "show options" to "support a decision" 

The Real Breakthrough

Transforming 1,000+ raw cutoff rows into plain-language verdict tiers to eliminate choice paralysis at scale.

Find My Best Fit College

Let’s build together

If you're navigating a complex problem or building something that matters, I'd love to hear about it.

creative.hatke1@gmail.com

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